Dynamic deep-ocean core sampler



July 16, 1968 M. R. KURlL-LO, JR. ETAL 3,392,794

DYNAMIC DEEP-OCEAN CORE SAMPLER Filed March 28, 1966 30 FIG 4 4o "7 FIG. I. I0 j- I 49 |4L 48 74 11k 20 H 1% 40 r42 -5. 82 l8 28 se LR";

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INVENTORS. '2 MAX R. KURILLO,JR.

I FIG. 3- LARRY R. RUSSELL M ATTORNEY United States Patent '0 3,392,794 DYNAMIC DEEP-OCEAN CORE SAMPLER Max B. vKurillo, Jr., 445 Magnolia Ave., Oxnard, Calif. 93030, and Larry R. Russell, 1740 Portsmouth, Apt. 3,

Houston, Tex. 77006 I Filed Mar; 28, 1966, Ser. No. 538,912

8' Claims. (Cl. 175-6) ABSTRACT on THE nrscrosnnn The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties'the'reon or therefor.

The present invention relates to a dynamic deep-ocean core sampler and more particularly to a core sampler which is capable of obtaining a vertical sample from the ocean bottom at great depths.

Inthe taking of core samples from the ocean bottom it is desirable that the core sampler be driven vertically downward so that the soil of the core is representative of the bottom condition at various vertical depths. If the core sampler penetrates the ocean bottom at an angle from the vertical the soil sample obtained is not representative of the vertical soil column and unless the angle of penetration is known, no reasonable correction can be made to the data obtained.

There has been a need for a deep-ocean core sampler which is capable of obtaining a vertical sample of the ocean bottom with a minimum of disturbance to the sample. The most common deep-ocean core samplers now in use are of the free-fall type. The free-fall corers penetrate the ocean bottom from one to twelve feet depending upon the bottom condition; This type of sampler is; however, subject to deflection by currents and hard objects, thus giving no assurance that a vertical sample will be obtained. Other types of core samplers are suspended by a cable from a surface ship and operate explosively or by vibration. Depending upon the current in the water and the movement of the ship these corers will also take on various angles within the water so that no assurance is given that a vertical sample will be obtained. The suspended vibrating type core has still another disadvantage in that the vibration will disturb the soil sample.

The present invention provides a core sampler which can be assured of obtaining a vertical core sample with a minimum of disturbance to the soil. This has been accomplished by utilizing a tube for sampling the ocean bottom; a barrel which slidably receives the sampling tube and has a discharge end through which the sampling tube can be extended; a barrel supporting means adapted to rest on the ocean bottom; gimbals connecting the barrel to the support means so that when the support means comes to rest on the ocean bottom the barrel and sampling tube are positioned vertically with the barrel discharge end directed toward the ocean bottom; a receiver connected to the top of the barrel above the sampling tube and havbottom and the sampling tube will be vertically aligned by the gimbals so as to obtain a vertical soil sample provided the slope of the bottom does not exceed the limitation of the gimbals. Other features of the present invention will be described hereinafter.

An object of the present invention is to provide a core sampler which is capable of obtaining a vertical soil sample from the ocean bottom;

Another object is to provide a deep-ocean core sample which is capable of obtaining a vertical soil sample from the ocean bottom with a minimum of disturbance to the soil sample;

A-further object is to provide a dynamic deep-ocean core sampler which will obtain a vertical sample of soil from the ocean bottom and which is low in cost and easy to operate;

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the core sampler resting on the ocean bottom prior to actuation of the sampling tube;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the receiver, barrel and sampling tube removed from the support means;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along plane IIIIII of FIG. 2 with portions cut away to show various details;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along plane IV--IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along plane VV of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a view taken along plane VIVI of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference numerals designate like or similar parts throughout the several views there is shown in FIG. 1 the dynamic deepocean core sampler 10 resting on the ocean bottom after being lowered by a surface ship (not shown). The core sampler includes a sampling tube 12 which is slidably received within an elongated barrel 14. The barrel 14 has a bottom discharge end 16 through which the sampling tube 12 can be extended. FIG. 1 illustrates the sampling tube 12 in its retracted position within the barrel 14 prior to penetration within the ocean bottom.

A support means 17 which is adapted to rest on the ocean bottom is provided for supporting the barrel 14 and the sampling tube 12. The support means may include a tripodal frame assembly having three legs 18 which are connected at their tops to an annular yoke 20 and which are connected intermediate their ends by cross members 22. If desired, the tops of the legs 18 may be pivoted to the annular yoke 20. This may be accomplished by providing the annular yoke 20 with pairs of radially extending flanges 24, each pair of flanges 24 receiving a top end of a respective leg 18 with a pin 25 extending through the pair of flanges and the top end of the leg. The pins may be held in place by cotter pins (not shown) or, alternatively, could be a bolt-nut combination. At the bottom end of each leg 18 there may be connected a padlike foot 26. It is desirable that these feet 26 be pivotally connected to the bottom of the legs 18 so that they will provide a good bearing support when the core sampler comes to rest on a sloping ocean bottom. Alternatively the feet 26 may be connected to the legs 18 by ball joint mountings so that they will pivot in any direction about the legs. Each foot 26 may include a flat plate which has a pair of upwardly extending flanges 28 which receive the bottom of a respective leg 18. Pins may extend through the 3 flanges 28 and the bottom of the legs 18 and may be of the same type as the pins used to connect the tops of the legs 18 to the annular yoke 20.

In order for the core sampler to be representative of a vertical soil column it is necessary that the sampling tube 12 penetrate the ocean bottom vertically downward. Accordingly, the barrel 14 must be oriented vertically even though the frame may come to rest on a sloping bottom. This has been accomplished by employing gimbals for connecting the barrel 14 to the frame assembly so that when the frame assembly comes to rest on the ocean bottom the barrel and the sampling tube are positioned with the barrel discharge end 16 directed toward the ocean bottom. The gimbals include a ring 32 which is pivotally connected to both the barrel 14 and the yoke 20. The ring 32 is pivotally connected to the barrel 14 by a pair of pins 36 and is pivotally connected to the yoke by a pair of pins 38. Accordingly, when the frame of the core sampler 10 comes to rest upon a sloping bottom the gimbals 30 will allow the sampling tube 12 and the barrel 14 to be oriented vertically providing the slope is not so great that the barrel 14 is restrained in its movement by the bottom edge of the annular yoke 20.

In order to provide a force for driving the sampling tube 12 downwardly into the ocean bottom a receiver 46 is connected at the top of the barrel 14. This connection may be made by providing the receiver 46 with a bore 41 which tightly receives the barrel. The receiver 41? may be rigidly connected to the barrel by any suitable means such as welding. The receiver ha an elongated cylindrical firing chamber 42 which is axially aligned with the sampling tube 12 and barrel 14. The top of the receiver 40 is provided with a counterbore 44, the lower portion of which receives an explosive plug 46 and the upper portion being threaded to receive a threaded plug 48 which seals the explosive plug in place. An ignitor wire 49 sealably extends through the threaded plug 48 and is connected to a detonator 50 within the explosive plug 46. Accordingly, when an electrical pulse is applied to the ignitor wire 49 from the surface ship the explosive plug 46 will be detonated to provide a very rapid and high rise in pressure within the firing chamber 42. Slidably disposed within the firing chamber 42 is a cylindrical plunger 51. The plunger 51, upon being driven downwardly by the rise in pressure in chamber 42, acts as a piston to drive the sampling tube 12 downwardly within the ocean bottom.

The top portion of the sampling tube 12 may be an adapter which connects the sampling tube 12 to the plunger 51. The adapter is slidable within the barrel 14 and has a cylindrical bore 54 which is vertically aligned with the lower sampling tube 12. The bottom end of the adapter 52 may be turned down to form a reduced diameter portion 56 which is snugly fitted within the top of the lower sampling tube 12 and connected thereto by any suitable means such as welding.

Since the sampling tube may fill with water when the core sampler 10 is lowered within the ocean, it is necessary that this water as well as any air be vented from the sampling tube 12 without interfering with the driving force of the plunger 51. This has been accomplished by providing the top end of the adapter 52 with laterally directed ports 58. The ports 58 may be machined within the adapter 52 by utilizing a drill bit which is directed in the lateral direction.

In order to prevent the sampling tube 12 from rotating within the barrel 14 as it is driven within the ocean bottom, the barrel 14 may be provided with a pair of diametrically opposed longitudinal slots 60 which may extend along the full length of the barrel nearly to the bottom thereof as illustrated in FIG. 1. The barrel 14 is retained rigidly to form the slots by a pair of annular retainer blocks 62 and 64, the block 62 being located intermediate the ends of the barrel 14 and the retainer 64 being located at the bottom discharge end 16 of the barrel. The retainer blocks 62 and 64 may be rigidly connected to the barrel 14 by any suitable means such as welding. The sampling tube 12 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed radially extending ears 66, each of which extends through a respective slot 61) and is slidable therein. The cars 66 are located on the sampling tube 12 in a position to align the ports 58 with the longitudinal slots 60 so that air and water within the sampling tube will be discharged through the slot during the driven operation. As shown in FIG. 5, the retainer block 62 is provided with diametrically opposed longitudinal grooves 63 for the passage of the ears 66 during the downward movement of the sampling tube 12. When the plunger 51 is actuated the sampling tube 12 is driven downwardly and i prevented from rotation within the barrel 14 by the r taining action of the slots 60 upon the ears 66.

The ears 66 also enable the sampling tube 12 to be retained in its upward retracted position, as shown in FIG. 1, prior to the driving action of the plunger 51. This has been accomplished by providing the barrel 14 with pairs of diametrically opposed radially extending tabs 70 just below the bottom of the receiver 46. Each ear 66 is received between a respective pair of tabs 70 and is prevented from downward movement by a shearable pin 72 which extend through each one of the pairs of tabs 7%. The shearable pins 72 are to be of sufiicient strength to support the weight of the sampling tube 12 during handling but yet weak enough to shear when the explosive plug 46 is detonated. The downward movement of the sampling tube 12 is limited by the retainer block 64 which acts as a stop means. Since the ears 66 extend beyond the barrel 14 they will engage the top of the retainer block 64 to stop the downward movement of the sampling tube 12 and prevent it from being lost within the ocean bottom. The retainer block 64 can also be used to withdraw the sampling tube 12 from the ocean bottom, which operation will be described in detail hereinafter. An energy absorption means, such as soft nylon plastic pads (not shown), may be mounted to the top of the retainer block 64 by any suitable means, such as a retainer bar (not shown) so that the downward momentum of the sampling tube 12 will be absorbed and prevent damage to the sampler assembly.

When the core sampler 10 is actuated and the sampling tube 12 is driven into the ocean bottom there will be a recoil force applied to the entire assembly. This recoil force may be resisted by a bafiie plate 74 which is connected transversely across the top of the receiver 40 by any suitable means such as welding. It is desirable that the weight of the core sampler 10 plus the resisting action of the baflle plate 74 prevent any large magnitude upward movement of the core sampler 10 when the sampler is actuated since this movement could prevent the sampling tube 12 from obtaining a vertical sample as well as causing damage to the sampling tube.

The core sampler 10 may be lowered to the ocean bottom by a cable or chain 76 which extends between the surface ship and the core sampler. The chain 76 may be connected to the annular yoke 20 of the frame assembly by three chains 78. A pad eye 80 may be rigidly connected to the exterior of the annular yoke 20 between each pair of legs 18 for connection to the bottom of a respective one of the chains 78. The upper ends of the chains 78 may be connected to a ring 82 which is also connected to the chain 76. This arrangement will enable the core sampler 16 to be lowered in a substantially upright position from the surface ship.

The bottom end of the sampling tube 12 may be provided with a cutting head '84. The diameter of the bore of the cutting head should increase in the direction of the sampling tube 12 so that soil particles will be prevented from bridging in the mouth of the sampling tube. The cutting head may be removably connected to the sampling tube 12 by any suitable state of the art means. Further, the cutting head may be provided with a state-of-the-art closure device to retain the soil sample when the sampling tube 12 is withdrawn from the ocean bottom.

An expendable line (not shown) may be inserted within the sampling tube 12 to simplify the removal of the soil sample. The liner may be thin-walled tubing of low surface roughness and low coetficient of friction, such as polyethylene or smooth-drawn brass. After removal of the liner it could be cut into sections for testing of discrete soil samples.

In the operation of the core sampler it is first lowered from the surface ship by the chain 76 until it comes to rest on the ocean bottom at a location where it is desired-to obtain a core sample. If the frame assembly comes to rest on a sloping bottom the gimbals 30 will act to orient the barrel 14 and sampling tube 12 in a vertical position. An electrical pulse is then fed through the lead 49 to detonate the explosive plug 46. The explosive force drives the plunger 51 downwardly which in turn drives the sampling tube 12 into the ocean bottom. During this driving operation the barrel 14 provides lateral support for the sampling tube 12 and prevents it from rotating while it is obtaining the core sample. As the sampling tube 12 is driven downwardly within the ocean bottom water and a'irwhich are contained within the sampling tube are discharged through the ports 58 and out through the slots 60 within the barrel 14. After the sampling tube 12 has been driven into the ocean bottom the surface ship utilizes the chain 76 to retrieve the core sampler 10, at which time the sampling tube 12 is extracted from the ocean bottom with its core sample in place. The retainer block 64 enables a unique operation for the removal of the sampling tube 12 from still soils. By alternately applying sufiicient tension in the cable 76, then releasing the tension so that the cable becomes slack, the lower retainer block 64 may be made to repeatedly strike against the ears 66 and withdraw the tube 12 from the ocean bottom.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

We claim:

1. A dynamic deep-ocean core sampler comprising:

a tube for sampling the ocean bottom;

'a barrel slidably receiving the sampling tube and having a discharge end through which the sampling tube can be extended;

means connected to the top of said barrel for driving the sampling tube downwardly into the ocean bottom;

a supporting means adapted to rest on the ocean bottom;

gimbals mounting the barrel and driving means to the support means; and

the barrel and driving means being free from restraint except for the gimbal connection so that when the support means comes to rest on the ocean bottom the barrel and sampling tube are positioned vertically with the barrel discharge end directed toward the ocean bottom.

2. A core sampler as claimed in claim 1 including:

a weight mounted on a bottom portion of the barrel.

3. A core sampler as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the driving means includes a plunger which abuts against the top of the sampling tube;

a top portion of the sampling tube is provided with a port for venting air and water from the tube;

said barrel has a longitudinal slot;

a radially projecting ear is connected to the sampling tube and is slidably received within said slot so as to align said port with the longitudinal slot,

whereby fluids within said tube will be discharged through said slot when the tube is driven into the ocean bottom.

4. A core sampler as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the barrel has a longitudinal slot; and

a radially projecting ear is connected to the sampling tube and is slidably received within said slot.

5. A core sampler as claimed in claim 4 including:

means connected to the barrel and shearable by the driving means for engaging said ear and retaining the sampling tube in an upward position within said barrel.

6. -A core sampler as claimed in claim 4 including:

stop means connected to the barrel for engaging said ear and limiting the downward extension of the sampling tube within said barrel.

7. A core sampler as claimed in claim 1 including:

a radially projecting dampening plate connected to said receiver for dampening movement of the core sampler when the driving means is actuated.

8. A dynamic deep-ocean core sampler comprising:

a tube for sampling the ocean bottom;

a barrel slidably receiving the sampling tube and having a discharge end through which the sampling tube can be extended;

a bar-rel supporting means adapted to rest on the ocean bottom;

gimbals connecting the barrel to the support means so that when the support means comes to rest on the ocean bottom the barrel and sampling tube are positioned vertically with the barrel discharge end ditrected' toward the ocean bottom;

a receiver connected to the top of said barrel above the sampling tube and having an elongated firing chamber;

a plunger connected to the sampling tube and slidably disposed within said firing chamber;

a plug of explosive material disposed in the firing chamber above said plunger;

an ignitor wire extending from the receiver for detonating said explosive plug;

said barrel having a longitudinal slot;

a radially projecting ear connected to the sampling tube and slidably received within said slot;

means connected to the barrel and shearable by the force of explosion for engaging said ear and retaining the sampling tube in an upward position within said barrel;

stop means connected to the barrel for engaging said ear and limiting the downward extension of the sampling tube within said barrel;

the upper end of the sampling tube having ports for venting the tube through said longitudinal slot when the tube is driven into the ocean bottom; and

a radially projecting dampening plate connected to said receiver for overcoming recoil of the core sampler when the explosive plug is ignited whereby upon igniting the explosive plug the sampling tube is driver into the ocean bottom to obtain a core sample.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,661,091 2/ 1928 Riabouchinski -6 X 2,227,198 12/ 1940 Piggot 17 56 2,665,885 1/1954 Gignoux 175-6 3,098,533 7/ 1963 Ostrom 175-6 3,110,350 11/1963 Spiri 175-5 3,279,547 10/1966 Berne 1756 3,313,357 4/1967 Venghiattis 175-6 NILE C. BYERS, JR., Primary Examiner. 

